What is Stickiness?
Stickiness (DAU/MAU ratio) measures how often your monthly users return daily. It shows whether your product is a daily habit or occasional tool. Higher stickiness indicates stronger engagement and retention potential.
A stickiness of 50% means half your monthly users come back every day. A stickiness of 10% means users only engage a few times per month.
Why Stickiness Matters
Sticky products have better retention and higher lifetime value. Users who engage daily build habits and are less likely to churn. High stickiness also creates more opportunities for monetization and word-of-mouth growth.
Stickiness expectations vary by product type. Social media aims for 50%+. A monthly reporting tool might naturally have 10% and still be healthy.
Improving Stickiness
Build daily use cases into your product. Send timely notifications without being spammy. Create streaks or daily rewards. Make the product faster and easier to use. Understand what brings power users back and amplify those features.
How to Calculate Stickiness Step by Step
Step 1: Calculate average DAU. Sum daily unique active users for 30 days, divide by 30. "Active" = meaningful action, not just login.
- Average DAU: 2,800
Step 2: Calculate MAU. Unique users active at least once in the same 30-day window.
- MAU: 9,500
Step 3: Divide. Stickiness = 2,800 ÷ 9,500 = 29.5%. The average user comes back ~9 days per month.
Step 4: Segment by user type. Power users might be 60% while casual users are 5%. This distribution tells you whether to make the product stickier for everyone or convert casual users to power users.
Step 5: Compare cohorts over time. Newer cohorts with lower stickiness may signal worsening onboarding or less-qualified acquisition.
Common mistakes founders make:
- Defining "active" too loosely (background syncs and auto-logins shouldn't count)
- Comparing across product categories (a weekly reporting tool vs a daily messaging app)
- Confusing high DAU with high engagement (notification-driven opens aren't genuine engagement)
Formula
Stickiness = Daily Active Users ÷ Monthly Active Users × 100
Also called DAU/MAU ratio
Higher = users return more frequently
Example
Your SaaS product measures monthly engagement:
- Daily Active Users (avg): 3,000
- Monthly Active Users: 15,000
Stickiness = 3,000 ÷ 15,000 = 20%
On average, 20% of your monthly users come back each day. Social apps aim for 50%+. B2B SaaS tools might be healthy at 20-30%.